The International Space Station Will Soon Be Able to Measure Forest Density Using Lasers

Strengthening the planet’s forests is one critical way to combat climate change

A closeup of a Herculaneum papyrus scroll used in an international scanning project.

Ancient Scrolls Blackened by Vesuvius Are Readable at Last

X-ray scans can just tease out letters on the warped documents from a library at Herculaneum

The Eko Core Bluetooth-enabled stethoscope accessory will let doctors share heart sounds for virtual consultations.

Tech Watch

This Smart Stethoscope Attachment Could Lead to More Accurate Diagnoses

Eko Core clips on to existing stethoscopes and lets physicians share heart sounds through their smartphones and the Web

Ten years ago this week, the Huygens probe gave scientists a first look at the icy surface beneath the haze of Saturn's moon Titan.

Best Space Photos of the Week

Best Space Photos of the Week: From Solar Flares to Saturn’s Moons

A spitting sun, a well-loved lake and a happy accident on Mars star in this week’s best space images

Cholera Belt, Dodd & Monk, Albert Mill, Canal Street, Congleton, Cheshire, 1882. With little understood about the disease, there were many bogus treatments and preventative measures against cholera. "The cholera belt seems like the most unlikely protection," writes Halls. "However, it was believed that a chilled body could cause disease, and that keeping the stomach and abdomen warm could protect against bowel complaints."

10 Victorian Inventions That Never Quite Took Off

Flops from a “knife and fork cleaner” to a “cholera belt” provide a curious look at life in 19th century England

United States Internal Revenue Service "bottle stamp"

Museums Are Now Able to Digitize Thousands of Artifacts in Just Hours

At the American History Museum, a collection of rarely seen historic currency proofs are being made ready for a public debut

Here is the artist's rendition of what a Tree of 40 Fruit will look like at 10 years.

Art Meets Science

A Tree Grows 40 Different Types of Fruit

What started as an art project has become a mission to reintroduce Americans to native fruits that have faded from popularity

A startup called Roost is developing a WiFi-enabled battery that listens for an alarm and sends a message to your phone when your smoke detector blares.

Tech Watch

This Smart Battery Sends a Message to Your Phone When Your Smoke Detector Sounds

It also alerts you weeks in advance of dying—sparing you from that annoying chirp

The dark black lacquered center of the Ming Dynasty tray, surrounded by an elegant basket weave design, made it seem almost modern.

How Curators Found a Ghostly Image Lurking Beneath Layers of Lacquer

Work in the conservation lab revealed there was more to this Ming Dynasty tray than meets the eye

An Asian tiger mosquito in action.

New Research

Could GM Mosquitoes Pave the Way for a Tropical Virus to Spread?

Modified insects designed to stop dengue fever could make it easier for another disease-carrying species to take root

Dale A. Gardner, Space Shuttle Mission 51-A, George D. Guzzi Jr. This watercolor shows Dale Gardner tethered to the exterior of Space Shuttle Discovery. During that mission, Gardner and Joseph Allen donned jet-propelled maneuvering units on spacewalks to recover two malfunctioning satellites.

Space Exploration Would Be Nothing If We Didn’t Know How to Spacewalk

The Air and Space Museum brings the privileged experience to the public in an exhibit that chronicles 50 years of technology

Bradesco Bank ATM, Rio de Janeiro.

The ATM is Dead. Long Live the ATM!

Usage is on the decline – so why are banks looking to the machines to save them?

Tony Award winner Geoffrey Holder's ingenious design used a skillet to complete the Tin Man’s hat in the 1975 Broadway production of The Wiz.

Breaking Ground

The Tin Man’s Hat From “The Wiz” Offers Just a Hint of the Musical’s Beating Heart

When the all-black musical production opened on Broadway 40 years ago, critics scoffed, but audiences embraced it

Gogoro is releasing an electric Smartscooter, a lithium-ion battery pack and a charging station at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

Will Electric Scooters Take Over the World’s Mega Cities?

A well-funded startup called Gogoro unveils its e-scooter and a plan to install ATM-like battery stations in urban areas

(Clockwise from top left) Katrin Macmillan, Ashutosh Saxena, Richard Lunt and Horace Luke are hard at work on exciting new projects.

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2015

From food science and robotics to solar tech and sustainable architecture, these folks are poised to do big things

As you pour your Champagne to celebrate the New Year, remember that the physics behind those bubbles has some real-world applications.

The Physics of Champagne Bubbles Could Help Power the Future

Studying the principles that govern bubble formation in sparkling wine could improve power plant boilers

What the Completed Great Pyramid Would Have Looked Like

Today, the Great Pyramid is tinted by smog and pollution, but when it was first built, the sanded limestone used to make it would’ve shone magnificently

Kevin Ashton Describes “the Internet of Things”

The innovator weighs in on what human life will be like a century from now

Small town travel, the Monuments Men, Chernobyl and Stonehenge were all among reader favorites in 2014

Our Top Stories of 2014

From weird red waterfalls to the pleasures of small-town America, these were the most read articles on Smithsonian.com this year

After the devastating 2011 tsunami, the Japanese government spent billions of zen to build this sea wall along the Sendai Coastline. It's almost 20 miles long.

In an Era of Superstorms, This Exhibit Captures Our Shifting Relationship with the Earth’s Rising Seas

“Sink or Swim” shows how we’re learning to be smarter and more resilient in our response to increasingly unpredictable oceans and rivers

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